Block Rock

Usually, planners of outdoor parties get only one shot at making their events happen. Even when thwarted by circumstances beyond their control, such as unexpected ailments or angered deities, they must swallow their losses. At this year’s Riverfest, for example, thunderstorms forced the cancellation of a laser-light-and-fireworks show.

The Bacchus Foundation had clear skies for its May 6 fund-raiser, but booze bosses rained on its parade. An agent of the state liquor-control division arrived at the scene of the shindig (a fenced-off parking lot at 20th Street and Walnut) and warned organizers that they would flout the law by serving spirits.

The party promptly relocated to the Hereford House, where Bacchus representatives dispensed free drinks and issued ticket refunds. Chairman Ryan Horton says many attendees asked the Foundation to consider their contributions a donation to the Block Party’s beneficiary, the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival.

Thanks to such gestures, Bacchus almost met its $30,000 goal, the price of a new collapsible steel stage. The Shakespeare Festival has already purchased this item, using it for its summer production of Much Ado About Nothing, which ran through July 17. Now Bacchus is throwing a second soirée to help it recoup what it lost at the first.

“We want to make good,” Horton says.

Bacchus Block Party 2, as it’s billed, is similar to its predecessor. It showcases several DJs (the Guy Downstairs and the collective Nomathmatics) and adds the Dirty Q-Tips Breakdancing Crew, the Kansas City Roller Warriors and the video artist Altair 4. It takes place on another First Friday at the same location, and the forecast calls for another pleasantly warm evening.

Horton emphasizes that there won’t be a reprise of the permit problems. Beer and wine from Mount Pleasant (in Augusta, Missouri) should flow freely.

“The board met with city and [state] alcohol officials, apologized for what happened the last time and made sure everything was set,” he says.

Riverfest organizers could have pulled off their postponed pyrotechnics (but for technical issues) the following evening, because lightning seldom strikes twice in the same spot. The Bacchus Foundation’s second-chance affair faces even better odds, because bureaucracy is marginally easier to control than the weather.